The smell of the crowd

Servant of Two Masters
The show is based in Commedia dell'arte, but with a combination of structured and improv bits. I wasn't always certain which was which. They also did the prerequisite drawing material from current events, including referencing every other play currently running. (Budget restrictions meant they had to steal weapons for a duel from other theaters, including a lethal trombone from the Music Man.) Truffaldino, the ever hungry servant, has a bit where he walks into the audience to ask advice, and was upstaged by an audience member twice. (He held a grudge through the entire performance.) The show was fast moving, as befits the style, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was light fare, but you don't want everything to be MacBeth.

We saw One Night Band, a sort of pick up group of players and former players who, in their copious free time, rehearsed various covers. They were having a great time, and it was infectious.

Don Quixote
Not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. It felt disjointed, but perhaps that's to be expected of a play within a book within a book. There was some very impressive puppetry and pantomime (like pantomime horse), including the rarely present antagonist, The Shadow, who was a giant head with glowing red eyes and two gigantic hands each man handled by their own stage hand. I expect he was ominous and scary, but I couldn't understand a word he said. sadface.
But I did laugh sometimes, and I don't regret going.

The roar of the smell

All's Well That Ends Well
The storyline bugs me a little in the same way Measure for Measure does. You're in love with a dick who doesn't want to marry you. The King/Duke/person anointed by God to be in charge says "Hey dude, you're a dick. As punishment you have to marry this girl. And don't be a resenful dick about it."
But the actors were really good, and I loved the setting (Post WWII Sicily) and the conventions and props. One player shuffling quickly between several roles, pulling props out of suitcases, silent movie placards projected on a bed sheet, that sort of thing.
It still didn't deserve a standing ovation in my opinion, but it seems that either everybody else who comes to Ashland is feeling in a festive mood or has never actually seen a play before and is enraptured. Although I think if the latter were the case, there would be more standing ovations at the indoor plumbing and the fancy electric lights.